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Sparrows wins Queen’s Award for Enterprise after trebling exports to £78 Million

Sparrows, the Aberdeen (UK) based lifting, handling and fluid power specialist, has received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise (International Trade): the citation congratulates the company on “more than trebling exports over six years, an outstanding achievement.”

Doug Sedge, chief executive of Sparrows (photographed here with Sparrows crane operator/maintainer Bill Hutcheon), says “The Queen’s Award is a huge honour which is shared by every member of our workforce. I am particularly delighted that the Award cites our sustained performance: Sparrows built a secure UK base over 25 years before venturing into overseas markets. Since emerging onto the international stage, both our sales and our workforce have been multiplied by a factor of five: today we are a truly global player, but still fiercely proud of and tied to our roots in Aberdeen.”

Sparrows began business providing crane operation and maintenance services to the North Sea oil industry in 1973. Over time, resources grew to include the largest and most focussed integrated team of engineers specialising in offshore crane design, safety, maintenance, modification and repair anywhere in the world. The scope of service expanded to include all aspects of mechanical handling in the offshore and marine environments, including training. Since 2007, Sparrows portfolio has further grown to include design and manufacture of subsea pipe and cable laying technologies and design, test and manufacture of fluid power systems, also for the offshore energy sector.

With 974 permanent staff locally, Sparrows is one of North East Scotland’s ten largest private sector employers. The group’s largest overseas operation is in the USA, accounting for a further 350 employees, with other bases in the Netherlands, Nigeria, Angola, Abu Dhabi, Azerbaijan, Singapore, Indonesia and Australia.

Earlier in April 2010, Sparrows announced the creation of 35 new positions in Aberdeen and 25 new positions in the Middle East following the award of further new contracts by clients in the first quarter of 2010.

“The Queen’s Award for Enterprise is both a welcome recognition of our past achievements and a spur to even greater efforts in the future,” says Doug Sedge. “It challenges us to sustain our rate of growth based on our winning blend of outstanding people, systems, services and technology.”